Physiology/Pathology/SCAD III

S OF PAPERS 217 were fed corn-soy diets containing 0, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0% SP-1 for 28 days. Chicks were grown in an environmentally controlled room with feed and water provided ad libitum. At day 21, abdominal fat pads were collected from six chicks per treatment for FA analysis. At 7 and 21 days of age, 12 chicks from each treatment groups were intravenously injected with 1ml of 7% sheep red blood cells (SRBC). Blood samples were collected at 7, 14 and 21 days post primary SRBC injection for anti-SRBC hemagglutination assays. The addition of SP-1 did not affect the feed intake, weight gain and gain:feed through 21 days of growth. Linear increases (P<0.01) in the concentrations of DHA, eicosapentaenoic acid and total omega-3 FA in the abdominal fat were observed with SP-1 supplementation. Total antibody production was increased after 7 (P < 0.001), 14 (P = 0.07) and 21d (P = 0.09) post primary SRBC injection. Higher IgM titers persisted through 14 days post primary injection for those chicks fed diets with SP-1. At 7 days post secondary (or 21d post primary) SRBC injection, IgG titers were higher (P<0.01) for the chicks supplemented with SP-1. These results indicate that dietary supplementation of SP-1 can enrich the omega-3 FA deposition in fat tissue and enhance the immune response of broiler chicks.